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Focusing on downtime reduction in laser cutting
If a laser cutting machine is not cutting, it has no chance of making money for the shop. Downtime related to maintenance is understandable. Downtime related to the slow process of attending to laser optics is frustrating. Automation, however, can...
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Fiber laser helps job shop cut thick metals
After selling his metal fabricating business in 2006, Jim Lee is back in the game with North Topeka Fabrication. But even in the short time that he was gone, metal fabricating technology has advanced and forced him to ask how the shop could apply...
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Strong metal, light cutting
Hot forming entails heating and rapidly cooling the workpiece.
However, the extraordinarily high-strength material emerging from
the press makes cutting and trimming with hard dies impractical, even
infeasible. This is where the multiaxis laser...
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Conducting the laser
Elizabeth Kautzmann, chairman of FMA’s Industrial Laser Council,
keeps one eye on laser technology and another eye on a part’s overall
processing time.
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The many hats of the laser operator
The modern laser cutting machine operator must wear several hats:
one for in-process quality assurance, another for recordkeeping, one
for preventive maintenance, and one more for troubleshooting.
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Keeping pace in sheet metal manufacturing
To remain competitive, a shop must be willing to embrace both innovation and change together. To get the most out of that commitment, a shop needs to understand just how the introduction of any new technology will affect the entire process chain,...
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The laser as a lean manufacturing tool
How many fabricating shops run a less-than-optimized cutting head just to avoid the downtime of switching out the head? S&B Metal Products, Lakeland, Fla., used to do like that until it got a laser cutting machine that was a better fit for its...
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An overview of laser cutting technologies
Resonators producing a high beam quality and small spot size provide a machine tool with a broader depth of field that enables greater process tolerance to material deviation. This tolerance gives the operator a bigger sweet spot for machine...
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Is a laser/punch machine right for you?
The metal fabricator that processes plenty of hole-intensive parts with several contours and forms may want to consider a laser/punch combination machine. The equipment can cut down on excessive material movement and help to boost production...
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Balancing the variables for optimal dust collection
Designing and integrating an effective dust collection system for thermal cutting is not a one-size-fits-all exercise. Balancing all the factors will help a shop ensure it gets the most out of it.
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No holes in modern laser cutting story
Fabricators want to process metal parts with the least amount of handling as possible. As a result, they are always looking to maximize the capabilities of their equipment. One example is the use of laser cutting equipment to produce...
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Why beam delivery matters
The most powerful laser in the world can’t work without an effective, finely tuned beam delivery system. Its design hinges on the application, but a few basic elements lay the groundwork. Together they provide myriad options to find the most...
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5 commonly overlooked laser maintenance areas
By keeping tabs on laser optics, gas flow, chiller performance, and machine cleanliness, a metal fabricator can ensure that a laser cutting machine is performing as it should and possibly lengthen the machine's working life as well.
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Engineering firm enters the 3-D world of laser cutting
A defense contract drove Systems Engineering & Manufacturing, Forest, Va., to seek out a flexible fabricating tool that could handle bent tube and structural shapes, and the fabricator found its answer in a laser cutting machine that could...
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Nesting software keeps the “lights-out” on
"Lights-out" laser cutting-defined as a machine laser-cutting parts without the need of operator intervention, typically during an unmanned evening shift-can only occur when the cutting head can move around the sheet unencumbered. Advanced...
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Seeing the (green) light
More lasers or punch presses may enable a shop to cut more parts, but those parts still must be loaded, unloaded, and transported to downstream operations. In these cases, automation can help increase green-light-on time and help a shop produce...
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Putting talent to work
Arin Inc. has evolved from a steel rule blanking house to a modern
metal fabricator capable of producing precision, laser cut blanks. Bu workers can see history every day--a tool room for steel rule die remains, as do the mechanical presses. A...
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Gas equipment for CO2 laser cutting: A primer
Precise assist gas delivery is essential in CO 2 laser cutting. The resonator is a key component, especially if gas delivery will be uninterrupted for unattended machine operation. Assist gas volume and pressure also must be appropriate for the...
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One laser head, one plasma torch, one cutting table
The fiber laser and plasma systems share similar delivery systems. Neither require any kind of optical alignment between the power source and cutting head. The two thermal cutting processes share many similarities, from an integration standpoint,...
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Laser cutting thick stainless steel—fast
Fabricator uses a 7-kW CO 2 laser cutting system to cut thousands of thick, stainless steel components for a critical component of nuclear plant safety. Today, the shop hopes to leverage its technology to gain work in other sectors.
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A case of the gas
If a job shop supplies metal parts that are to be powder coated or welded, the customers likely require that those fabricated parts have no oxidized edges. That requirement forces the job shop to cut with nitrogen, which doesn't leave an oxidized...
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Fabricator goes 3-D
Fabricator uses both laser cutting and milling to manufacturer components quickly and to precision tolerances. Profiles are cut with a laser, and the mill machines specific elements with tight tolerance requirements.
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Fabricator growth strategy: Lower cost brings greater profit
Hi-Tech Industries of New York invests heavily in automation,
including a new laser cutting center and robotic press brake--large investments unusual for a typical job shop. But this is no typical job shop.
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Forming new possibilities with laser blanking
If high-speed fiber lasers replace the traditional mechanical blanking press, they would open up new possibilities of blank designs optimized for the forming processes downstream.
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Analyzing the potential of the solid-state laser
Fiber lasers have enormous potential in metal fabrication. They aren't a panacea, but for certain applications, they may be extremely attractive. They're solid-state, require less maintenance, and often can cut twice as fast as their CO 2...
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Upgrading your laser cutting equipment
Upgrading the laser resonator or undertaking full laser cutting renovation represents an alternative to the expensive proposition of purchasing a new laser cutting machine.
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Blended laser-assist gases: Recipe for successful materials processing
Now processing a greater variety of materials with their lasers, fabricators are exploring new assist gas blends of up to four gases. What's the best way to blend and deliver these gases? For some, on-site blending systems can help optimize cost...
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The importance of focal positions in laser cutting
If the proper laser beam focal position and projection shapes are maintained within the material to be processed, the balance of the requirements necessary to producing a consistent, high-quality laser-cut are kept to a minimum. That's why it's...
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Say goodbye to hard tooling
The high-powered fiber laser now can take on the work of the blanking press.
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Perfecting processing for perforated products
Beverlin Manufacturing Inc., a tube producer and component fabricator, struggled with various cutting processes. Its produces and fabricates perforated tube which, because of the perforations, complicates the cutting process. After using two...
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Saying 'yes' when others can't
IMEC, a small job shop in southwest Missouri, invests in automation not necessarily to increase capacity, but to increase flexibility.
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The hidden costs of laser cutting gases
Gases for laser operations can be a significant factor in keeping costs down.
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Nontraditional fabricator chasing nontraditional markets
Matrix Metalcraft, Clinton Township, Mich.,has done plenty of prototype and production work for the automotive industry in the past, but with the downturn in the industry, it is targeting industries aligned with alternative power generation for...
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Purging the plenum for better laser cutting
Typically, compressed air or nitrogen circulates in the plenum to ensure that water, dirt, dust, smoke, haze, and solid particulate matter are absent so that the mirrors in a laser resonator do not become cloudy. In recent years, membrane air...
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Bobcat pounces on cost-saving opportunities
Bobcat determined that the nesting software on its laser cutting systems didn't maximize the capabilities of the machines. After the company decided to purchase new nesting software, programmers outlined what capabilities they wanted. The company...
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New dimension, familiar direction
H.W. Metals offers punching, shearing, arc welding, machining, oxyfuel cutting, and standard and high-definition plasma cutting. The company found that there was more and more work it couldn't do for its customers because some jobs required...
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Laser and waterjet: friends or foes?
Knowing the capabilities and drawbacks of laser and waterjet machines is the key in determining which is best for a particular application.
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Are you getting enough fiber in your metal fabricating diet?
With sales forecasts predicting that fiber laser sales will increase by 16 percent, to $323 million, in 2008—$112 million of that in metal processing industries—this year is being called the year of the fiber laser. A closer look at the...
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When does a punch/laser make sense?
Hawkeye Industries Inc., Tupelo, Miss., was getting more and more orders for parts that required both punching and laser cutting. To meet the growing demand, the company purchased a combination punch/laser machine. Some shops are more suited than...
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Laser optics: Special delivery
Not only can today's laser optics handle more power, they also enhance beam quality, reduce maintenance, increase power delivered to the cutting head, and improve mode stability.
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Making sense of metal cutting technologies
This article was developed from the Comparative Cutting Panel conducted at the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association's Metal Matters conference in Orlando, Fla., March 2008. The participants included Rick Neff (Cincinnati Incorporated), Chris...
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Lasers catch limelight at ALAW
How can laser technology make metal fabrication more efficient? The efficiency comes not only from advances within the laser itself, but also in new ways to integrate those lasers for optimal part flow on the shop floor. Several presenters at ALAW...
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The dirt on laser lenses
This roundup of laser lens providers gives tips on extending the life of lenses used in laser cutting.
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Laser safety in the industrial workplace
Lasers are capable of cutting thin-gauge metal and plate at incredible speeds and with outstanding results. But a laser also is capable of great damage to operators if the proper safety steps are not followed. To keep everyone safe and the laser...
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Shop perfects laser cutting brass, titanium
Meeting a challenge sometimes requires out-of-the box thinking. One contract manufacturer employed a thorough knowledge of laser cutting, determination, ingenuity, and tenacity to successfully laser cut difficult-to-process materials.
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Getting into the thick of high-powered lasers
The new high-powered lasers allow fab shops to serve a broader range of custom needs.
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Hyperactive fabrication
Hype Manufacturing invested in a horizontal machining center, two lathes, two vertical machining centers, a universal milling machine, tube bending equipment, a press brake, a laser cutting system, and a waterjet to support its racing effort.
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Achieving efficiency with occasional high-pressure, high-flow nitrogen use
Several modes of nitrogen assist gas supply exist, but with choice comes the potential of saddling your business with overhead costs that make it difficult to compete. The best approach is to map out a growth strategy, using each option's...
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Successful automation isn't automatic
As with so many other ventures in life, successfully implementing a laser automation system rests on one key practice: communication.
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The evolution of scanners for remote welding applications
Remote laser welding operations, many of which rely on a laser scanner to deflect the beam to the weld area, require high-beam-quality lasers. Years ago this meant that they were used only with high-power CO 2 lasers. As the beam quality of...
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